February Sweater: Skinny Cat Memorial
I love my February sweater.
Pattern: Generic top-down raglan with my custom chart. 1×1 ribbing on collar, cuffs, and hem.
Yarn: 8 skeins Vera Videnovich 2-ply sport natural dark brown corriedale and 1 skein silver corriedale; 3/4 ounce handspun made from about 2/5 Skinny fur (the sweater’s namesake) blended with 3/5 Art Club Malt Balls combed top (RambouilletXCormoXCorriedale).
Notes: I thought this was going to be a tight sweater, but it grew a bit in the wash (and also on the needles–the colorwork was so tight that I found myself with way more fabric than expected once I worked down the torso). Now it’s a really comfy, roomy sweater, but thanks to the waist and hip shaping, it’s not all clunky and baggy, just nice and roomy and cush. I’m even into the overlong sleeves. The hip shaping was done with raglan-type increases, which are an elegant way to increase quickly for big hips. The stitching at the wrist and hem used the Skinny fur yarn.
What I learned: Next time I do stranded colorwork, I’ll definitely use longer needles. The stitching on the sleeve, spread out on 16″ circulars, is worlds better than the main work, bunched up on 24″ circulars. If I made an other sweater where the pattern started a little way down from the neck like this, I’d probably use a provisional cast-on and work my way up from the design after the fact, to better match the overall tension. Using longer needles may make that a non-issue, but I’d rather be safe than sorry. This worked out okay because of the irregular nature of handspun, but in a smoother yarn, the looser tension about the yoke would probably annoy me enough that I would have had to tear it back. Also: start with more yarn.
February 8th, 2008 at 8:24 pm
I love your sweater! Beautiful handspun. What does it say? I really couldn’t read it
February 8th, 2008 at 8:47 pm
Wow! That is what a sweater is supposed to FIT like…
fantastic job!
February 8th, 2008 at 8:49 pm
The front & back say “Skinny Bones” (his name) and the wrist says “Beloved Friend” with a little hear at the end.
February 8th, 2008 at 10:48 pm
That’s so cool!
February 9th, 2008 at 12:30 am
I’m so glad you were able to finish it, I got worried there for a while… And It turned out AWESOME!!!
February 9th, 2008 at 1:52 am
I love your sweater too. It’s gorgeous! Wish it was mine.
February 10th, 2008 at 9:04 am
Gorgeous.
Can you teach me to knit a sweater?? I need to be SHOWN. I can’t always grasp it from written directions.
February 10th, 2008 at 12:56 pm
I love this. I love the idea of a memorial sweater, and I love that you were able to incorporate some of Skinny’s own fur. There’s a part of him there that will always be with you.
Oh, and the way it fits just blows my mind.
February 12th, 2008 at 2:52 pm
it’s beautiful!
February 13th, 2008 at 5:05 pm
[…] I pestered Vera (she of the yarn for my Skinny Cat Sweater) about starting a fiber CSA program (she already has a veggie CSA–if you live in Chicago, […]
March 2nd, 2008 at 10:20 am
WOW. I love your sweater and the meaning it has. I have been collecting cat hair from my own 2 Maine Coon Cats to possibly have added to some fiber to spin someday. And I am always on the lookout for adult patterns with a cat motif. Would you consider sharing your pattern???
March 2nd, 2008 at 6:15 pm
original charts are here. Due to my colorwork shortcomings, I replaced the white space with extra checkerboard stitches (leaving a 1-2 st barrier around cats) and added a line to demark the haunches, but otherwise pretty much the same. I made the changes on the paper printout & have long since lost it, but this will help.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/sugarpants/1987749988/
and
http://www.flickr.com/photos/sugarpants/1986939951/
March 31st, 2008 at 2:38 pm
I love your Skinny Bones memorial sweater. Do you have the generic top down pattern (sans your custom chart of course). I haven’t had much luck finding one that I like, and I do like your pattern. Thanks! Susan